Martin was involved in probably one of the three most frightening injuries on Buffalo home ice (the others being when Clint Malarchuk's and Richard Zednik's in separate incidents each had their jugular vein lacerated). Dave Farrish of the New York Rangers hooked Martin around the neck from behind and kicked Martin's feet out from under him, causing Martin to hit his head on the ice. He was knocked unconscious, and went into convulsions. After that play, helmets became a much more common sight on the heads of his Sabre team-mates.

On November 8, 1980, his career was dealt a devastating blow. In a game against the Washington Capitals in the Aud, Martin was racing in on a breakaway. Capitals forward Ryan Walter managed to trip Martin and no penalty was called. Capitals goalie Mike Palmateer, already way out of his crease, knocked Martin back down by kicking his knee, causing severe cartilage damage that all but ended Martin's career.[4]

Martin underwent surgery in Toronto and on March 10, 1981, Scotty Bowman traded Martin and Don Luce to the Kings for a pair of draft picks, one of which the Sabres used to get goalie Tom Barrasso in 1983. Martin played four games for the Los Angeles Kings before hanging up the skates. In 1989 he, along with the other two members of the French Connection, were inducted into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame.[5] His number 7 was retired along with Rene Robert's #14 on November 15, 1995, flanking the #11 of Gilbert Perreault under a French Connection banner. On Oct. 25, 2005, Martin was inducted into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame.[6] In 2010, in commemoration of the Sabres' 40th season, The Buffalo News ranked Martin number 4 out of the top 40 Sabres of all time, while he was voted #5 by fans.[7] After his death in 2011, the Sabres honored his memory by painting the number 7, the number Martin wore for most of his career with Buffalo, behind each goal at the HSBC Arena for the remainder of the 2010-11 season.[8]